The tangle of Life!

He tests you,
and gives you the strength to face them.

He questions you,
and gives you the words to answer them.

He challenges you,
and gives you the courage to meet them.

He is the puzzle,
you take a lifetime to solve.

He is the tangle,
you untangle your whole life.

He is the web,
you either get engulfed in,
or you break through.

He is the sea,
you either swim across,
or you perish.

He is Heaven, He is Hell.
He is Life, He is Death.
He is Reckoning.

He is You... You are Him. 

A bond that's one of a kind!

Wherever I  have gone, I always had a circle of friends, to hang out with.

Over the years, many of them have faded away from my life. There are only very few who maintain the friendship. 

Distance often kills relationships.

For some rare people, it doesn't matter whether you call them regularly, or whether you meet up often or not. For them, the relationship lives in the heart, the passage of time only makes friendships stronger.

I have some very special friends. The bond we share was formed by shared life experiences, by a shared worldview, of being there for each other in our times of crises without being asked. What we share cannot be reduced to a mere word like friendship. To just say they are my best friends would not do justice. We are so much more.

I have everything I could ask for, for which I am grateful. A person in my situation could easily become proud and start giving airs, but my friends make sure that I remain firmly grounded.

That doesn't mean I have no problems. Like everyone else, my life is no bed of roses. My friends taught me to be content with what I have, that happiness comes from within, not by possession of things or money.

It was my friends who stood by me through thick and thin. A few months back, I went through a deep personal crisis, a near existential dilemma. My friends brought me back from the brink. If it were not for them, I might have been wallowing in a deep abyss of depression, self doubt and self pity.

A few years ago, I went through a very difficult phase in my life. To qualify for the civil services was my childhood dream. I had been making preparations since my college days. But despite several attempts and spending so many years of my life in pursuit of that dream, it didn't happen. I never had a plan B. I found myself adrift, without knowing where I was heading. I withdrew from life, in a self imposed exile. Then too, it was my friends who brought me back. They taught me to accept life as it comes, to meet every challenge head on, never back down.

It's amazing!! It's taken three years, but I'm healed :) finally, I'm able to talk about it.

Whenever i feel low, they always cheer me up. They have more faith in me than I do in myself. Time and again, they have encouraged me to take on more challenges than I might have done on my own. Their support gives me enormous confidence.

When I was a child, I used to be a blind believer in all things religion taught me. I used to love reading Bible stories, listen to church sermons and attend catechism classes. But as I grew older and my horizons widened, I began questioning everything. Today, I am no longer a blind believer and my faith in Church teachings is not what it used to be. My friends on the other hand, are very pious, deeply religious, spiritual people. They enrich me spiritually. The best thing about faith is the strength it gives to face adversity.

I was not a believer in charity. I believe that to truly save a person from misery, we have to give him the means to sustain himself. Merely giving money or food or clothes will not solve his problems. My friends showed me that though my intentions were laudable, my ideas were not practical, because I didn't have the means. My ideas haven't changed, but I have become more charitable and compassionate to those less previleged than me.

I have always had more boys as friends than girls. For me gender has never been a barrier in forming friendships. In our deeply patriarchal society, such friendships are not easily approved. Most people believe, as shown in countless movies, that boys and girls can't have true friendships without getting romantically involved. It is the biggest lie. It is the people that matter. I have seen so many examples in my life. I hope someday this mindset will change. Like Gandhi said, I try to be the change I want to see in the world.

I feel lucky to have them in my life. They anchor my world. They are my blessing. In many ways, they make me a more complete person. 

As I sign off, I only wish that I can be as good a friend to them as they are to me.

Some friends aren't friends, they're family.